Saturday's BBC iPlayer choices

By Mary Evans

12:01AM GMT 03 Nov 2008

By Mary Evans

Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1)It’s the halfway point (fear not, there are still as many contestants left as shopping days until Christmas) and this open field continues to intrigue as the pretty young things are given a run for their money by those who’ve quick-stepped around the block. A shame then that the make-up department render all participants a brighter shade of Oompa Loompa, wardrobe still can’t give Tess a frock that fits and Brucie’s gags are so lame they should consult a doctor. They made me say it…

Merlin (BBC1)In tonight’s episode of the family drama, Arthur (Bradley James) makes an unfortunate romantic choice when he takes a shine to a magical temptress. Having foreseen Arthur’s doom at the hands of a pretty girl, Morgana (Katie McGrath) is not pleased when he arrives back in Camelot having rescued said strumpet from bandits. But the girl is not all she seems, and when Merlin (Colin Morgan) catches her striking a deal to exchange Arthur for eternal life, he needs to pull more than a rabbit from his hat to save the king.

Timewatch: The Last Day of World War One (BBC2)In a conflict that claimed over 9 million lives, it heightens the sense of waste that an estimated 11,000 were lost after the Armistice was signed. Here Michael Palin travels to Northern Europe to visit the battlefields and tell the stories of the final battles on 11 November, 1918. Using photographs, research and graphics, as well as contemporary media footage, Palin reconstructs the last hours of the Great War. But the emotional punch is packed by a haunting visit to the Argonne, whose soil remains full of the personal artefacts of the American soldiers who fell there at the end of the war.

Casualty (BBC1)Another shift replete with drama among the dressings as Dixie (Jane Hazelgrove) confronts the family of a seriously ill patient who has been deliberately overdosed, and a dying father’s revenge wreaks havoc on the department.